Liver cancer is the fifth most commonly occurring cancer in men and the ninth most commonly occurring cancer in women. There were over 840,000 new cases in 2018. The top 25 countries with the highest rates of liver cancer in 2018 are given in the tables below.

The Continuous Update Project Panel judged there is strong evidence that greater body fatness, and consuming alcoholic drinks and foods contaminated by aflatoxins increase the risk of liver cancer. There is strong evidence that drinking coffee decreases the risk of liver cancer. There is some evidence that being physically active and consuming fish might decrease the risk of liver cancer. Read about all the evidence in our Third Expert Report.

Age-standardised rates are used in the tables. This is a summary measure of the rate of disease that a population would have if it had a standard age structure. Standardisation is necessary when comparing populations that differ with respect to age because age has a powerful influence on the risk of dying from cancer.

Liver cancer rates: both sexes

Mongolia had the highest rate of liver cancer in 2018, followed by Egypt.

Rank Country Age-standardised rate per 100,000
1 Mongolia 93.7
2 Egypt 32.2
3 Gambia 23.9
4 Vietnam 23.2
5 Laos 22.4
6= Cambodia 21.8
6= Guinea 21.8
8 Thailand 21.0
9 China 18.3
10 South Korea  17.3
11 North Korea 16.5
12 Ghana 15.4
13 Liberia 15.2
14 Guatemala 14.9
15 Guam 14.8
16= Moldova 13.8
16= Burkina Faso 13.8
18 Vanuatu 13.1
19 Senegal 12.6
20 Singapore 12.3
21= Papua New Guinea 11.9
21= Guinea-Bissau 11.9
23 Philippines 11.5
24 Mauritania 11.3
25 Cape Verde 10.7

Liver cancer rates in men

Mongolia had the highest rate of liver cancer in men in 2018, followed by Egypt.

Rank Country Age-standardised rate per 100,000
1 Mongolia 117.0
2 Egypt 49.0
3 Vietnam 39.0
4 Gambia 36.5
5 Cambodia 34.6
6 Laos 33.4
7 Thailand 32.2
8 Guinea 27.9
9 South Korea 27.7
10 China 27.6
11 North Korea 25.4
12 Guam 24.5
13 Ghana 24.4
14 Moldova 20.9
15 Vanuatu 20.2
16 Singapore 19.5
17 Burkina Faso 19.2
18 Liberia 18.9
19 Senegal 18.0
20 Philippines 17.8
21= Guinea-Bissau 17.3
21= Samoa 17.3
23 Brunei 17.0
24 Mauritania 16.8
25 Guatemala 15.8

Liver cancer rates in women

Mongolia had the highest rate of liver cancer in women in 2018, followed Egypt.

Rank Country Age-standardised rate per 100,000
1 Mongolia 74.1
2 Egypt 16.7
3 Guinea 16.3
4 Guatemala 14.1
5 Laos 13.1
6 Cambodia 12.7
7 Gambia 12.0
8 Liberia 11.7
9 Thailand 11.4
10 Papua New Guinea 10.0
11 Burkina Faso 9.7
12 Vietnam 9.5
13 Cape Verde 9.3
14= China 9.0
14= North Korea 9.0
16= Moldova 8.4
16= Senegal 8.4
18 South Korea 8.2
19 Nicaragua 8.0
20 Ghana 7.6
21 Sierra Leone 7.5
22 Guinea-Bissau 7.3
23= Armenia 6.9
23= El Salvador 6.9
23= Ivory Coast 6.9